An automotive closure, such as a door for an automobile passenger compartment, is hinged to swing between open and closed positions and conventionally includes a door latch that is housed between inner and outer panels of the door. The door latch functions in a well known manner to latch the door when it is closed and to lock the door in the closed position or to unlock and unlatch the door so that the door can be opened manually. The door latch is operated outside the automobile by two separate and distinct locking and latching operators. A key cylinder or remote transmitter controls the locking function, and a handle or push-button controls the latching function. The door latch is also operated inside the passenger compartment by two separate and distinct locking and latching operators. A sill button or electric switch controls the locking function, and a handle controls the latching function. Each operator is accessible outside the door structure and extends into the door structure where it is operatively connected to the door latch mechanism by an actuator assembly that is located inside the door structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,461 granted to Thomas A. Dzurko et al on Jan. 11, 1997 for a vehicle door latch, which is hereby incorporated in this patent specification by reference, discloses a typical door latch. The door latch disclosed in the Dzurko '461 patent includes an outside latch operating lever and an outside lock operating lever that are pivotally mounted on a stud along with a locking lever. The door latch can be unlocked by rotating the outside lock operating lever counterclockwise and then unlatched by rotating outside latch operating lever clockwise. The door latch also includes an inside latch operating lever and an inside lock operating lever latch that are pivotally mounted on a flange of a metal face plate near each other. The door latch can also be unlocked by rotating inside lever counterclockwise and then unlatched by rotating the inside latch operating lever clockwise.
Door latches of the type disclosed in the Dzurko '461 patent have been used successfully by General Motors Corporation for many years.
The purpose of the locking function, of course, is to prevent unauthorized entry into the automotive vehicle by locking the vehicle doors. However, unauthorized persons can enter locked automotive vehicles by gaining access to the sill button, electric switch or other operator inside the vehicle that controls the locking function of the door latch.